Movie

Hi readers. I figured I’d give posting from my cell a shot with a quick review. I just saw Brooklyn, which was highly recommended by a friend.

I quite liked it. The very subtle, yet beautiful camera work reminded me a bit of Manhattan, but this time with the characters in the foreground.

I was slightly annoyed with the main character at times. You know and understand her struggle, but she makes it difficult to root for her. Also the ending feels a bit of a cop out. She has to have the conversation with him, or rather, she should. Does she hold onto the information? Does she tell him? Then what? Up in the air. I’d like to read the book to see if the unsure feeling was purposefully done.

So, wow, been quite a while. I have been busy, but also felt like this sort of needed a revamp in format. Not sure what it should be, but I did see Catching Fire and wanted to post about it. For now, I will not be rating things I watch or read.

First off, how crazy is this PS4 thing? I wanted to have mine by now but I refuse to pay the jacked up bundle prices. I saw one as high as $800.00. I am not sure if the supply really is this low, if retail companies are trying to create an extremely high demand for the holidays or if Sony is making one huge mistake. I am hoping that once people start refusing to pay the outrageous prices on EBay that the scalpers will have less of a reason to buy 5 at a time for resale and the market will settle down.

Before the Hunger Games chat, I wanted to talk about Thor: The Dark World and Skyfall. I recently saw both and one was a real disappointment. Another huge disappointment was the amount of commercials before the coming attractions, then comes the coming attractions and finally the movie. My girlfriend and I went before work when we saw Catching Fire and it was a huge pain because the movie time was no where near when the actual movie started. They either need to shorten their pre-movie packages or put the time of the actual movie start.

Skyfall had high hopes from me because I really enjoy Judi Dench, of course she was good, but I feel the rest of the cast was just not up to par. It was definitely weird to see Ralph Fiennes with a nose but he did not get enough screen time. Javier Bardem was actually pretty darned good. Everyone else, I just did not care for. I still am having a hard time buying Daniel Craig as the new Bond. I have no problem with new actors playing an old role (I am a huge Doctor Who fan) but he just doesn’t seem to fit it for me.

Opposite, Thor: The Dark World was quite good. Overall the acting was well done and when certain surprises happen within the story, I am touched by them. Oh and HUGE amounts of love for Zachary Levi. I kept it from my girlfriend that he would be in it. We are both big Chuck fans, me a bit more so, and he really holds his own in such a big time movie. I really want to see him cast as a leading man. I know quite a few people did not care for this movie, but I thought this added a lot of the Norse mythology that was missing from the first. I am actually looking forward to the sequel which is funny because I do not like the comics, never have.

OK now for the major movie I was waiting for this year, (besides The Hobbit of course) Catching Fire. I cannot praise Jennifer Lawrence enough. I really can’t there is just not enough time. She is so good and I am officially just a fan of her alone. I will watch anything else she is in. I was hysterical in the elevator scene with her faces and her expression in the final shot was perfect. And just like the previous movie, Lenny Kravitz is perfect. He really is an amazing actor and I could not picture anyone else as Cinna. The only casting issue had been with Finnick. He was described very differently in the book. The pacing was good but they could have taken off 10 minutes or so because it was a bit long. Really good movie though. Definitely check it out.

That is all for now. Hopefully will figure out my new format soon. Have a great weekend and watch your step, it is icy out there!

I keep having trouble finding things to write about because I am a bit lacking of funds. However, my uncle was nice enough to treat me to a musical showing at the Paper Mill Playhouse. It was very enjoyable and though some people around us would beg to differ, quite funny.

Honeymoon in Las Vegas is a brand new musical following a couple who are on their way to getting married until the groom to be flashbacks to a scene with his dying mother. His loving mother puts a curse on him saying he can never marry because no one will ever love him like she will. Fearing he will never be able to go through with it and end up losing his girlfriend they rush to Vegas. A slight case of cold feet causes him to lose big and craziness ensues. Is this Phantom of the Opera? No. However, it is a whole lot of fun. You have to go in not taking this seriously. There are great, clever jokes which if you do not pay attention will miss quite a bit. Overall I was pleased with the singing. Tony Danza is pass-able. He is getting up there in age and his voice is a bit squeaky and breathy. The female lead is quite good though. Her name is Brynn O’Malley. I would definitely like to see another musical with her in it. Her character has such a huge range of emotions, I am sure it was quite difficult to keep proper pacing and she really kept up well. There were some complaints about the male lead played by Rob McClure. A few people thought he was a bit too nerdy however to me he felt like Stewart from Big Bang Theory which I liked. I also do not feel like every male lead has to be some over the top macho guy. It ended up working really well because the payoff at the end was fantastic. Also the supporting cast is very entertaining, even doing things a bit off the stage just for a laugh. You really need to see this because as I said, it was a lot of fun. And really isn’t that why we go to musicals and movies? To have fun. I give Honeymoon in Las Vegas a B.

A really quick movie review. I was able to watch Hawking on YouTube. I originally wanted to buy it but the DVD is impossible to find, and good luck finding a Blu-Ray. I heard that it is being re-released in the UK, but no word about an American release. The movie follows Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Hawking in his college years. I have read a couple of Hawking’s books so I was familiar with a lot of his theories however I did not fully understand a lot of what he went through during this time. Of course without question succumbing to ALS was the biggest challenge of all, but also dealing with the science community and their belief in solid state was a lot more of a challenge then I realized. The acting is perfect. Period. Cumberbatch is quickly becoming my second favorite actor and at this rate Ewan McGregor might very well be knocked off his top spot with me. Bottom line is see this if you are a science fan, if you are an acting fan or if you are a fan of good stories. When the eureka moment happens, even though I knew it was coming, I actually got chills. If you fully understand the importance of it, that he made his most important finding at such a young age, one of the most important physics realizations within the past 50 years, you will feel it too. Hawking gets an A.

Please check these both out, especially because you can see Hawking right on YouTube. Have a great weekend, go Giants! Please, seriously just win one game. I am begging at this point…

So, I am sick… Again! This year has been terrible for me health wise for some reason. I am sorry for not posting sooner. I haven’t finished anything I thought I would by now and I did not want to just put a status update as a post. I have done it before but I really dislike it.

So onto the movie I saw! The Family is about a mob snitch who is under protection and has to blend in within a town in France. I went to see this because I try to give and take with movies in regards to my girlfriend. She wanted to see this, so next time I can see something she might not want to. Works well for us because there are not many movies that we disagree on. Usually when we do it is about some specific genre that one of us personally likes.

I want to start off by saying this movie is far from bad. On the contrary it actually surprised me a bit. We all know De Niro and Pfeiffer are great at what they do. So there is no need to talk about them. Instead, I really want to focus on how good their co-stars were! Agron was really good in this. She showed a really great range and you felt quite deeply for her character. At this point we have seen here in more than just Glee, but I think she really got to shine in this the way everyone knew she could. However, the real shocker was D’Leo. I did not even know who he was before The Family. He was absolutely fantastic and I wish I could think of an even better word for how good he was in this movie but I cannot. Such an impressive guy. He was actually in my favorite scene, when all of the wise guys come off the train and he is sitting, watching in pure shock and horror. He slowly turns his face and as he is shaking tears roll down his cheeks. Wow, what a powerful scene. Mark my words he is going to be a big deal as long as he pursues acting.

So, with all the great acting why is this movie catching so much hate? That is a really good question. I have not read anyone else’s review, but after thinking about it I might have an idea for people’s motivation on disliking The Family. The direction. More specifically, the type of movie this tries to be. The Family is rated R. Which means no one who is younger will or should be seeing this; seriously there is a ton of violence and a simulated sex scene. The problem is that even though there is sex and violence, there is a really strong scent of a family movie wrapped within it. I was quite confused even after the movie was over. I did not understand why some people even died. I understand surprise deaths. I love Game of Thrones so I am used to being tortured as a reader and audience member. But, death is supposed to have serious weight or levity. One or the other. Two of the deaths, I won’t say which, had neither. So was this supposed to be an adult movie, or a really messed up family movie? I have no idea and I don’t think the director did either. What really bothers me is he wrote Wasabi, one of my favorite movies of all time. Which makes this movie all the more disappointing.

Before I give this my rating I want to give mention to the music. There were some really good choices, but remember that scene I mentioned earlier with D’Leo? That was without question the best. I have not heard Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz in a very long time, but that scene was made for it. It was perfect. I am actually listening to it right now as I type this entry. Sadly, even great music or even wonderful acting cannot save a movie when the movie itself is holding everything back. The Family regretfully gets a C.

Next week I hope to have either the book or television show I previously mentioned in another entry done for a review. Have a great weekend guys and girls.

So, I was not sure what to use for the tag line. I couldn’t really pull a proper quote from either movie that would fit with both. Yes, I have two reviews instead of one.

The first being what I mentioned last week, Gasland II. This was a really well done sequel to the first Gasland. It works sort of like a follow-up and puts out even more information. The interviews are very well done. No scene is milked nor are people forced into emotion. Everything is very genuine and this is important information that needs to get out to the general masses. Whether or not people will watch or listen? I am not so sure. My own state, New Jersey, had a ban on fracking. You read right, we had. Our governor, is thinking about forgoing any ban in the future and having this same thing done here. The huge amounts of money pouring into the misinformation campaign for fracking make movies like Gasland II important. I will not give it a grade, but I will tell you to go see it, then show your friends and family. Profit is not more important than your health.

The second thing I watched was Elysium. I was very unsure about seeing this movie. It had gotten a lot of confusing reviews, some of which enjoyed it, but others hated it. In the end, I thought well, I do really like Matt Damon, both as an actor and as a person, so let me support this movie. Honestly, I was a bit let down, but on the whole I really enjoyed the movie. The visuals were amazing. The very first pan in shot to Elysium actually dropped my jaw. One thing that did bother me was Jodie Foster’s acting. I have enjoyed her in quite a few movies so maybe it was some odd direction she was given, but her acting in this was just not good. In some scenes it was actually off-putting. It was actually my main disappointment with Elysium. I have not seen many people comment on Jodie Foster. Maybe I will do a search after I post this to see if I stand alone.

Still, I have not seen an adult Science Fiction movie in a long time. You forget that it can be serious, and not stupid or hokey. The first bit of gore did catch me off guard, but the story is not as bad as people make it out to be, and there is an important, and topical message in there. Elysium seems to have hit a bit too close to home with some people and it made them uncomfortable. The right thing should be done to help all of these people, and then when you pull back, you realize how our own society does the exact same thing. The reviews I read seemed to be either saying the message was too obvious, or that they didn’t like the message. I suppose this could have been put a bit more nonchalantly but were people really expecting subdued? Did everyone complaining see District 9? I own it. When Blomkamp has a message he wants to deliver, he delivers it, right in your face. I hope that people will just be honest about why you do not like something. Stop hiding behind pseudo disappointment. This was exactly like one of his previous movies just the message was changed; delivery still the same. I give Elysium a B-. Go see it if you are a Sci-Fi fan and support the genre. We need more movies like Elysium. We need movies that do not sugar coat things and do not have a perfect, happy story.

I am sorry if I came off a bit partisan. I try to be objective, but this week just pulled me a bit more to one side than I normally would allow. Next week should be a bit lighter, I think. We will see! Have a great weekend.

Hello everyone. So last weekend I went to the Film Forum with my Uncle. We have done this for many years, go to NY to see older movies. Before the movie, we went to a great restaurant called Sammy’s which I highly recommend everyone check out. If you want the address I can message it to you. Great prices and huge portions. Don’t let the odd reviews online throw you. I’ve been going to it for many years. They have the BEST sesame noodles. THE BEST!

After we ate, we went to see Planet of the Apes. I haven’t seen it in a while, which worked out great because it was a restored digital print. It was fantastic besides the last scene which was grainy. I found that odd because the rest of the movie was so crisp and clean. It might have been intentionally shot that way and I just never noticed. The sound was also spot on. Every rifle shot and yell was quite clear.

Planet of the Apes was just as good as I remembered. A bit of hokey acting here and there but because of the time it was filmed that sort of thing is to be expected. I did find it amusing to hear Heston talk about peace and to see what a lunatic he is now in contrast. I digress though… The movie is great and still holds up very well. The themes must have been considered extremely risqué and downright sacrilege in 1968. I am really surprised it was even made. That being said, with how polarized the country is now the movie is more important than ever just as an artistic piece alone.

The older the movie, the harder it is to give a grade rating. Do I grade it on a present day scale or would moving it back to the day it originally was featured be more appropriate? Sometimes things are not as easy as they should be. I also try to look at everything from an unbiased point of view and to leave my personal feelings out as best I can, grading on sheer art value alone. However, the message of this movie is something special and with a sci-fi backdrop it becomes even more appealing as a whole. So, what I will say is go see this classic if you have not already. It is a great movie with several powerful messages.

I also watched Gasland II but that review will be saved for next week. I hope you all have a great week and be sure to check back for more book and movie reviews.

So I intended to post quite a few times but a lot of things have been going on. I do intend to start posting regularly from now on.

I have watched so many things since my last post I wanted to just touch a bit on each.

First I saw White House Down in theatres, and it was better than I expected. Jamie Foxx was outstanding and not that I want to see him typecast, but I would love to see him play the president again. He had a down to Earth, yet almost regal quality about his demeanor and stature. Tatum was, as he is in every role, not good. I tried to give the guy a chance but he almost talks his way through entire scenes. Overall, the movie was fun and engaging. White House Down gets a C+, almost fully on Jamie Foxx’s acting.

I also saw Pacific Rim. I came into this movie expected great visuals and not much else, but the story was fun and the acting was on par. I know forums online have been having arguments about possible connections between this and Evangelion. As a fan of Evangelion, I can assure you there are quite a few scenes that could have come directly from Evangelion. The movie has quite a Japanese vibe to it and not just because of the giant robots. There was also a nice surprise appearance which got a vocal response out of me. I do not want to ruin it though. I have to say, it was a very enjoyable. There was something for everyone. Great fights and my inner anime geek give this movie a B-.

Television has also been on my viewing schedule. I started watching Popular, Under the Dome, and the second season of The Newsroom. All 3 are good in their own way. I cannot say much else about any because I have not seen enough. I will make it a point to say I really enjoy Olivia Munn’s character in The Newsroom even more. She is showing growth and if she keeps her attitude from last season I can see her becoming my favorite character.

That is all for this post. Next week I will hopefully be getting more in-depth with a manga and another thing I have yet to choose. So be sure to visit next Saturday! Thank you.